University Joint Laboratory of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macao Region on Marine Bioresource Conservation and Exploitation, College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, 510642, Guangzhou, China.
Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Open-sea Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou, 510300, China.
Environ Pollut. 2024 Oct 1;358:124444. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.124444. Epub 2024 Jun 25.
The existence of potential pathogens may lead to severe water pollution, disease transmission, and the risk of infectious diseases, posing threats to the stability of aquatic ecosystems and human health. In-depth research on the dynamic of potential pathogenic communities is of significant importance, it can provide crucial support for assessing the health status of aquatic ecosystems, maintaining ecological balance, promoting sustainable economic development, and safeguarding human health. Nevertheless, the current understanding of the distribution and geographic patterns of potential pathogens in coastal ecosystems remains rather limited. Here, we investigated the diversity, assembly, and co-occurrence network of potential pathogenic communities in two anthropogenic coastal regions, i.e., the eight mouths (EPR) and nearshore region (NSE), of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) and a total of 11 potential pathogenic types were detected. The composition and diversity of potential pathogenic communities exhibited noteworthy distinctions between the EPR and NSE, with 6 shared potential pathogenic families. Additionally, in the NSE, a significant pattern of geographic decay was observed, whereas in the EPR, the pattern of geographic decay was not significant. Based on the Stegen null model, it was noted that undominant processes (53.36%/69.24%) and heterogeneous selection (27.35%/25.19%) dominated the assembly of potential pathogenic communities in EPR and NSE. Co-occurrence network analysis showed higher number of nodes, a lower average path length and graph diameter, as well as higher level of negative co-occurrences and modularity in EPR than those in NSE, indicating more complex and stable correlations between potential pathogens in EPR. These findings lay the groundwork for the effective management of potential pathogens, offering essential information for ecosystem conservation and public health considerations in the anthropogenic coastal regions.
潜在病原体的存在可能导致严重的水污染、疾病传播和传染病风险，对水生态系统的稳定性和人类健康构成威胁。深入研究潜在病原群落的动态变化对于评估水生态系统的健康状况、维护生态平衡、促进可持续经济发展和保障人类健康具有重要意义。然而，目前对于沿海生态系统中潜在病原体的分布和地理格局的了解还相当有限。在这里，我们调查了珠江口两个人为沿海地区（即八个河口（EPR）和近岸区（NSE））的潜在病原群落的多样性、组装和共生网络，共检测到 11 种潜在的病原类型。EPR 和 NSE 之间潜在病原群落的组成和多样性存在显著差异，有 6 个共享的潜在病原家族。此外，在 NSE 中，观察到地理衰减的显著模式，而在 EPR 中，地理衰减的模式不显著。基于 Stegen 零模型，注意到 EPR 和 NSE 中的潜在病原群落组装主要受非主导过程（53.36%/69.24%）和异质选择（27.35%/25.19%）控制。共生网络分析表明，EPR 中的节点数更多，平均路径长度和图直径更小，负共生和模块性更高，表明 EPR 中的潜在病原体之间存在更复杂和稳定的相互关系。这些发现为潜在病原体的有效管理奠定了基础，为人为沿海地区的生态系统保护和公共卫生考虑提供了重要信息。
